“A couple years back. It was the anniversary of that day. I figured I’d find her out with her girlfriends, living it up.” His voice drops. “Either that or married, having popped out the kids she wanted to so badly have.”
“She didn’t do either of those?”
A shake of his head. “No.” The word sounds as though it was torn out of him. “She was sitting on her bed, her wedding dress laid out on the mattress beside her, and she was—” Another crack in that armor, the regret heavy in the words, the remorse spiking sharply through his eyes. “She was crying, man. She was holding it and crying, and I knew I fucked up. I knew I hurt her. But in that moment, I knew it was more than just hurt and tears. Ibrokeher, and if we ever existed in a world where we could go back in time, I would go back and fix that, go back and make sure nothing ever touched her again—no matter the cost.”
Christ, the thought of sweet personified Briar Ellis sitting on her bed, surrounded by her dress,crying…
I absently rub at the ache in my chest.
And I liked her, but I wasn’t Brooks. I didn’t love her, didn’t worship her, didn’t want to make her mine.
For my friend to have seen that…
I hate that for him.
Forthem.
“When something beautiful lands in your lap,” he says, voice fierce now, eyes intense, grief tucked deep, deep down again, “don’t fucking waste it.”
“I won’t,” I promise him.
But even as the words cross my lips, I wonder if they’re true. If I can really go there with Marie.
A heartbeat later, the memory of her sparkling green eyes, her bouncing brown curls, her razor-sharp wit flooding my mind…and I know I don’t really have a choice in the matter.
The universe seems to have decided otherwise.
“So, you’ll figure out a way to get your girl to stick around?” His smile is lame, approaching my lame attempt at a joke a few minutes ago.
I lean into that.
“Even if I have to handcuff us together.”
“Kinky,” he says on a chuckle that thankfully, almost sounds real.
I cling to that. “I learn from the master.”
He rolls his eyes then changes the subject to the Eagles and how their season is going (spoiler alert: it’s going much better since they fired their asshole of a head coach last year).
But even though the topic shifts and he turns back into my pain-in-the-ass best friend again, I don’t forget what he told me.
And I promise myself that if the opportunity arises, I’m going to help him get Briar back.
Twenty-One
Marie
Puppy patrol is over.
Surly senior cat duty has finished.
And now I’m considering adopting two dogs and a gaggle of kittens and an adult cat who may or may not scratch me at every opportunity.
Because my condo is an empty shell that used to house something human (me) but now is just…empty.
New floors. For all intents and purposes, a new bathroom. And new baseboards and several new kitchen cabinets that weren’t fixable, and new carpet in the bedroom. And…it’s empty. Partly because my replacement furniture hasn’t come yet, though it should show up in the next couple of days. But mostly because…
I’m alone.
